Day: November 29, 2012

“Lord Justice Leveson has recommended the introduction of the first press law in Britain since the 17th century – proposing that a statutory body such as Ofcom should take responsibility for monitoring an overhauled Press Complaints Commission.”

“Articles 4(3)TEU and 13TEU of the EU Treaty and articles 2(3)FEU, 3(1)(c) and (2)FEU, 119FEU to 123FEU and 125FEU to 127FEU of the FEU Treaty, and the general principle of effective judicial protection did not preclude the conclusion between the member states (whose currency was the euro) of an agreement such as the Treaty establishing the European stability mechanism between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, Ireland, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Finland (the ESM Treaty), concluded at Brussels on 2 February 2012, or the ratification of that Treaty by those member states.”

“SodaStream is to air a TV advert, featuring just a black screen with white text, in protest at an 11th-hour decision by regulators to ban its planned £11m campaign after an objection that it ‘denigrated’ the bottled drinks industry.”

“For Richard O’Dwyer, the extradition battle to decide his fate started with a knock on the door of his student room at dawn on a chill November morning in 2010 – and ended almost exactly two years later with a tweet, fresh from court.”

“This week, the Court of Appeal heard the cases of R (T) v Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police and others and R (JB) v the Secretary of State for the Home Department. These are the latest in a series of cases challenging whether the criminal records checks regime is compatible with the Convention. Unlike previous cases, which have concerned the disclosure of “soft information” held on local police computer systems, these cases raise in stark terms the compatibility of s.113B(3)(a) of the Police Act 1997 with Article 8. This requires the disclosure of all convictions, cautions, warnings and reprimands on an Enhanced Criminal Records Certificate (‘ECRC’). In T’s case, his ECRC disclosed a warning he had been given for stealing a bicycle when he was 11. In JB’s case, her ECRC disclosed a caution for shoplifting given eight years before the check.”

“So-called ‘chuggers’ or ‘street fundraisers’ are seen by many as the scourge of the high street, but a new code of conduct may see shoppers across Britain breathe a sigh of relief as it sets out to curb aggressive money collecting which has plagued the practice.”

“The European Court of Human Rights recently held that the UK was in breach of Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to have specific legislation in place which criminalised domestic slavery.”

“On what is likely to be a landmark day for politicians, the media and the police, Lord Justice Leveson’s report into the future regulation of the press will be published after a 16-month public inquiry that has seen the industry face unprecedented criticism.”

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